Archives: May 2006

May26th

The U.S. Coast Guard in Seattle will be commemorating its service at the Normandy invasion with events at South Lake Union June 3-6. They’ll remember the crew members of Coast Guard Flotilla 1 who helped soldiers trapped and wounded on the Normandy beaches 62 years ago. There’ll be tours of two decommissioned 83-foot cutters and the 87-foot patrol boat Terrapin. The celebration will culminate 10 a.m. June 6 at Historic Ships Wharf with a wreath laying and ceremony.

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May26th

The Library of Congress is out with another installment in its excellent “Experiencing War” online veterans history project. “Military Intel: The Inside Story” features first-hand accounts from 22 men and women who plied the spook trade in World War II, Vietnam and the Cold War. Well worth the visit.

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May26th

USA Today has a long feature story in its Memorial Day weekend edition about two Air Force captains killed a year ago – on May 30, 2005 – when their plane crashed near Kirkuk, Iraq. The story doesn’t say so, but the crash also claimed the life of Spanaway’s Casey Crate, a 26-year-old Air Force staff sergeant and special operator. His mom, Linda, has a tribute to him here.

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May17th

The Hartford Courant has been running an excellent series of stories about soldiers and Marines who have experienced mental health problems associated with their deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The newspaper documented numerous cases where service members with known, serious mental health issues were deployed, in some cases while they were prescribed psychiatric drugs. Well worth reading.

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May9th

The big papers had stories – NY Times here, and WaPost here – this morning about how commanders in Iraq are postponing, at least temporarily, the deployment of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, scheduled to have begun this month. Nothing similar is in the works for a certain Fort Lewis brigade on its way out the door, an official said this morning. “The announcement this week was limited to the 2nd of the 1st and doesn’t impact the deployment plans/schedule for the 3rd of the 2nd,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Vician said via e-mail.

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May5th

Navy Region Northwest commander Rear Adm. William French is the keynote speaker at at Maritime Day luncheon May 17 sponsored by the Port of Tacoma chapter of the Propeller Club of America. Checkin starts at 11:30 a.m. at the Tacoma Club, 16th floor of the Wells Fargo Bank Building downtown. Reservations and $20 payment in advance required. Call 253-922-5100.

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May5th

Dr. William Winkenwerder, Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, is coming to Madigan Army Medical Center on Tuesday morning, the hospital announced Friday. The Pentagon’s main man for all matters of health care has been on the hot seat lately over computer hackers’ intrustions into the DoD’s health insurance databases and the department’s proposals to raise fees for military retirees. But at Madigan he’ll focus on health-care for soldiers, touring the pre- and post-deployment wellness screening programs, the treatment simulation center and a Stryker medical evacuation vehicle.

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May5th

For those of you following along at home, the long-speculated I Corps move to Camp Zama in Japan looks like it’ll happen by 2008. That is, if I’m reading this State Department media note correctly. Scroll down to Item No. 2.

But not so fast: folks at Fort Lewis say they’ve still not been formally notified that the corps is moving, let alone when. “To be totally honest, we don’t know,” said post spokesman Joe Piek. “There’s been no execute order. The DoD and the Department of the Army have not made any decision or announcement that